Page 84 of Lies and Lullabies
“Vivi, I’m really sorry. I wanted to see you today…”
“Hello?” Kira’s voice cut in.
“Hi,” I said. “I’m still in Philly. I’m so sorry.”
“Oh,” she whispered. “You’re not coming?”
“I would be there right now if I could,” I said quickly. “Nixon had an emergency, and I brought him to the hospital.”
“Jeez. What happened?”
I didnotwant to tell Kira that my best friend overdosed. She’d think…Shit. “He has some issues, Kira. And I’m trying to help him.”
“Yikes. That sounds serious.”
“It is.”
She was quiet for a second. “I wish I hadn’t told Vivi that you were coming.”
“I know. Lesson learned. I mean…”Damn it all. The “lesson learned” wasn’t supposed to be that I was unreliable.
“Things happen, Jonas. I know your life can be really hectic.”
Her words were understanding, but they sounded an awful lot like an indictment of our future. “It’s not usually like this,” I said, the excuse sounding lame even to myself.
“It’s okay. We were going to take you to the aquarium today. I’ll take her anyway.”
“I’m sorry Kira. So sorry.”
“Me too,” she said. “I hope Nixon is okay.”
“He will be. Thanks.”
I told her I missed her, and that I hoped to call soon with better news. Then we hung up, leaving me feeling like Asshole of the Year.
I slipped back into Nixon’s room, where the nurse was fussing over him. “The attending will come in to take a look at you in a little while,” she said on her way out the door.
Sitting down, I rubbed my gritty eyes. “At least we don’t have a show tonight. I wonder if you’ll be able to play Nashville Wednesday night.”
“I’ll play it,” Nixon said gruffly. “I’ll probably stop puking by then.” He was quiet for a moment. “I’m sorry about Boston.”
I groaned. “It just sucks, you know? I kept telling Kira that we could make this work. I said it a dozen times. Your timing sucks, my friend.”
“It always has,” he agreed.
Twenty-One
Kira
“That smells good,” my brother said cheerily as he came into the kitchen.
I was sautéing his favorite chicken dish and trying not to worry. Adam was trying to cheermeup, which was completely backward. He was the one going under the knife tomorrow. “Thanks. It’s really no trouble.”
“There’s something I need to discuss with you for ten seconds. And then we can never speak of this again, okay?”
My stomach dropped. “Hit me.”
“There’s a folder in my desk labeled ‘In Case of Emergency.’ It’s a living will and a copy of my actual will, a list of accounts, and crap like that.”
